Enjoy Ghoulish Multiplayer Brawls In Fright Fight

Fright Fight™ - Multiplayer Brawler (Free) by APPSolute Games LLC is like having a mobile version of Super Smash Bros. on your iOS device, except with ghoulish monsters instead of your favorite Nintendo characters. Since it’s highly unlikely that SSB will ever come to mobile devices anyway, this is the best bet you’re going to have for a fighting game with a similar experience.

Oh man, Super Smash Bros. It’s definitely one of my favorite games ever, but only because it can bring out the best (or worst) of you and your friends as you compete with each other to see who the better brawler is. Plus, who doesn’t like the action-packed battles that this fighting game brings with each iteration? It’s just unfortunate that Nintendo will never port their signature fighter over to iOS, so when we first heard about Fright Fight, I was ecstatic — this is as close to SSB on iOS as we can get. Now that the game is finally here, it does not disappoint.

Fright Fight features beautiful, 3-D visuals with lush, ominous environments as well as awesome looking character models that feature four characters of different realms. These may not be the classic stages that you may recognize from SSB, but they have the basics to them — platforms for you to jump on to avoid attacks or launch assaults from, and the stages will float, so you still have that chance of simply falling to your death. There is also a fun soundtrack to go with the game, which I found to be a pleasure to listen to, along with the sound effects of battle.

With Fright Fight, all games are currently online only, so you will need to register with an email account so that you can add friends and receive invites from other players. Registering for an account is free, and I have yet to get any spam, in case you’re worried about that. It’s just to create a profile and be social. You’ll see a “Local” option for new games, but it is not currently available and will be coming in a future update.

Since Fright Fight is a completely online game, you will need a constant data connection to play, and it’s highly recommended to get your friends and family to download it as well. Otherwise, you’ll end up playing against a bunch of random strangers in battles, which could end up being a frustrating experience if you get paired with the wrong types of people (they are always out there). There is no single player campaign mode, which may be a tad disappointing to some, but the multiplayer is actually a lot of fun.

If you’ve played SSB, then you are probably thinking that it would be difficult for a game like this to be manageable with touch screen controls. I also thought this, but I’m actually rather surprised at how good the controls are in this game. Everything is done with swipes and taps, so it’s very intuitive.

The game will start you off with a short tutorial for the controls, and you’ll pick it up quickly. It’s recommended to play the game with both hands, and to use your thumbs. Just swipe your thumb in the direction you want to move in for horizontal movement. Swiping up allows you to jump, and a tap will perform a single hit, while multiple taps will turn it into a chain attack. If you tap-and-hold on the screen, you will “charge” up for a stronger attack, but this will leave you vulnerable. If you do this while you are enraged (more on this in a bit), you get to perform your ultimate move.

The four characters that are currently available (more are coming) will each have their own set of special moves that you can execute by doing a combination of movements, such as jumping and then attacking in the air, or while doing a dash.

Choose your character wisely, since you won’t be able to change it after, unless you pay coins or real cash. You can view the move list for you character from the main screen to get familiar. Currently, there is Kahn the Werewolf, Carmilla the Vampire, Grim the Reaper, and Hugo the Yeti. Each will have their own special talents, such as HP restoration or large attack radius, as well as a unique move set. I do wish that the game allowed you to pick a different character for each game without a cost. But I suppose that making you stick with one character helps you learn and (hopefully) master it over time.

There are three stages to choose from. Before each fight begins, each participant will be asked to vote on the stage, and whichever one gets the most will be the battlefield. I hope there are plans for more stages in the future.

The free-for-all matches will always last about three minutes each, and during this time, the goal is to get as many kills as possible on the other players in order to be declared the victor. Each player’s kill count is shown at the top, and you can see everyone’s health bars above their character on the stage. Landing successful hits on opponents will fill up your rage meter (purple bar underneath the green health bar), and once this is full, you can tap-and-hold to unleash your most powerful attack against foes.

After each game, players will be rewarded with experience points, with the amount earned depending on how you do in each fight. The experience will go towards earning levels, making your character stronger. You will also earn coins, which can be used to purchase new and upgraded moves for your character, giving you an advantage in battle.

Fright Fight also features Facebook integration for finding and adding friends. And for the competitive people, there are global and local leaderboards, though they aren’t done through Game Center, but rather, the Fright Fight servers. I was hoping that there would be Game Center support for challenging friends and leaderboards, but perhaps this can be considered in the future.

So far, even though Fright Fight runs on a freemium based model, I’m actually enjoying the game. I haven’t felt forced to purchase more coins or anything like that, and each game will be a different experience, since it’s online-only. I just wish that it was possible to change your character before each match without having to pay, because it’s hard to decide which one suits your play style before trying them out. I hope that the developers can consider changing this in the future.

If you’ve been wanting a Super Smash Bros. type fighter game on iOS, then now is the time. You can get Fright Fight in the App Store as a universal download for free, though the game will have in-app purchases.